Tattoo #4

It was inevitable, wasn't it? Considering I was planning this since I got my window on the inside right ankle, this shouldn't be too much of a surprise. If you haven't read it, the window is explained here (http://speckoftexas.blogspot.com/2005_10_01_archive.html). The original plan was to get the window and door at the same time. That was the plan till I found out how EXCRUCIATING the ankle is for a tattoo. Arm? No problem! Back? No problem! But, oh my god, that was some incredible pain. At that point, I was just happy to get through having the window done. Then I put the door off for more than a year. No real reason, things just kept coming up and I wasn't in a rush to feel that kind of pain again. But lately, I felt 'no time like the present'. So, I called my tattoo guy up (Mike Condon at True Blue on Red River - awesome guy) and made an appt for Wed (1/24). When I went in he was just finishing a back piece on a guy, and when the guy came out he said 'Hey!' Wha? Dude! It was this guy Doug that worked at the shelter two years ago and was actually the guy who recommended Mike to me! Small world! So we chatted for a bit while Mike cleaned up his workstation. It was good seeing him again. I lamented how the adoption staff is crap now and I really missed him and the other people that were there back then. Oh well.

Mike and I discussed the door and I told him I wanted heavy hinges and a big handle. I really like the look of metal and wood. We struggled with the right handle, and in the end decided just a keyhole would work best. And really, that's a door that won't be opened again, so that made sense just to have the keyhole. It only took about 30 minutes to do, and yes, the pain was just as bad as I remembered. Some parts he hit made it feel like my whole foot was on fire. I think I held in there fairly well though - no whimpering or crying. I think there was one 'dear lord!' but that was it.

So...here it is!

Mike took this right after he was done, so it's a little red around the edges from the trauma.

Here's a blurry closeup. It's actually just in black and gray, so all the red/orange/brown you see is just blood under the skin. As it heals the blood will wash away leaving it just with blacks/grays. I'll put another picture up in about a month so you can see how it turned out.

And yes, I am already planning my next one. It'll be the largest so far - covering the outside left calf in a long narrow vertical space (no hints!). Mike and I have to discuss this design a bit more, and he said it'll be a few sessions to let it heal right. I have in my head the idea of what I want, but I always need to talk it out with the artist to get their perspective on what would work in a tattoo. I'll probably get this done within the next two months. Maybe get the outline before Andrea comes to visit in Feb.

Oh, and just for kicks - here's a picture of this crazy dolphin panda that Randy sent me from Japan. I have no words. Who comes up with this stuff? It's soft and squishy too. so cute.

Much better pictures

What a strange, strange week. We ended up having all day Tuesday AND all day Wednesday off. The roads this morning were fine, but it took twice as long to get home since people were taking a lot of side streets and staying off the freeways. The overpasses and bridges were still icy.

This morning I had to knock a 1/2 inch of ice off my car. It was really fun. Reminded me of my St Louis days. I still had my heavy-duty ice chipper so that helped. Luckily it was all ice and no snow, so it was actually not that bad - I was able to hit it with my fist to break it up and then it just came off in large chunks. I cleared my whole car since I didn't want pieces to fly off while I was driving. Wish everyone thought of that! There were quite a few assholes on the road that left the ice on the top of the car. I saw a couple of almost-accidents in front of me when the ice block flew off into oncoming traffic. So irresponsible.

Anyways....while I was heating up the inside of my car to help break up the ice, I went around my front yard and got some really cool pictures. Enjoy.

Ice Storm 2007

It's the time of year news agencies love - all weather updates, all day. All in all, the ice storm wasn't as bad as I was expecting. My office actually opened yesterday morning since the roads were still ok. I went in only because I had to do payroll and everyone said Tuesday was the day it was really going to hit. I'd rather go in when the roads are ok than brave it on the bad day. We lost power for a few minutes, but it came back up. We closed offices at 9:30, and I got out of there by 10:15. We were expecting the storms to hit that afternoon, but I didn't get much up by my house. For Tuesday, my boss canceled morning clinic and there's a chance we'll open at noon. I haven't called her yet, but the news it saying there's more storms on the way. I walked outide to see how it was around my house and while I was walking around I was getting some cool freezing rain/sleet. Here are some pictures. They're not that dramatic, but, it's what I got. Haven't lost power yet, and I've been keeping the house nice and toasty warm. Hope everyone's ok. **edited to add ..my boss just called and we are closed the rest of the day, and MAYBE tomorrow morning. Good thing I've got a lot of vacation available! This'll be a good day to catch up on Veronica Mars.**

Now that's what I call a party

Dear lord am I tired. 19 people showed up for Party Game Night. That's got to be close to a record. We had to split into three groups and I used every chair in the house. There was a group of people in my dining room, my kitchen, and my family room. It all worked out really well. Most people left around 10:30, the next group at 11:45, and then Joan (cool chick) just left a few minutes ago at 12:40. Everyone loved my cats - they got lots of play time and petting. They were actually more social than I thought they'd be with this many people. They hung out with everyone the whole time. It was great that Nathan and Tony could meet everyone in ANK. We had one new couple, but everyone else were the usual people. It's just been so long since I've seen them all together! So now that I know my house can fit that many people comfortably, I'll probably host some more nights. Tomorrow I'm going into the shelter and then over to Mike & Annette's for some movies. I think Sunday will be a good sleeping in day. Oh...and honey that he is, Nathan brought me some See's candy from CA. So, I've got a surprise box for my mom. She is so going to love it. (if you don't know...See's candy is chocolates/truffles that are only sold in several states on the west coast. We don't have any stores in Austin or most of TX. That stuff is probably the best chocolate in America. Can't stand Godiva or some of the other fancy crap you get at Whole Foods. It's gotta be See's.) Ok....going to bed now.

I told you I'd post more!

Hello again all my faithful readers

Hey all. Sorry about the lack of posts. Won't happen again. Yeah, right! I'm having Party Game night at my house tomorrow. Should be fun. I've had quite a few RSVPs. Nathan and Tony are coming too. Nathan asked what the makeup of ANK was, and I guess it's about 70% couples and 30% singles. Much like the shelter I thought it would be a good avenue to meet new friends, maybe a boyfriend, but hey, oh well. So it's 2007 and I'm single again (I could go on and on about this, but that would be depressing...and depression is boring so I try to avoid it - or maybe I'm just in denial. It was an interesting 3 weeks.). Any nice guys lurking on my blog? :P My friend Amy in Boston admitted to lurking. Hi Amy! Post a comment! Heh.

Anyways, New Years Eve was laid back. Hung out with Tony since Nathan was in CA. We watched the Wallace & Grommit movie and a couple of the shorts and How To Marry a Millionaire (one of my favorite old movies..love Lauren Bacall in it). I spent the night in their guest room since I didn't want to deal with all the crazies on the road. Work has been going well. We hired some new people and they seem to be working out. The roofers are coming on Wednesday to start the new roof. They said it'll just take a day and a half. I hope it doesn't rain while they're working on it. And yes, I still need to get around to painting my bathroom and kitchen cabinets. Hopefully I'll get it done sometime this year. Just need some motivation.

Here are some movie reviews:

Lord of War - Nicholas Cage. Good movie. He's an arms dealer soley interested in the business of selling guns with no morality or politics. I thought it was well done. Recommended.

James Bond: Casino Royale - I've noticed that it's mostly women that are loving this movie while the men are sad about the lack of gadgets and no Q. Well, I got to say that yes, I'm a woman and I LOVED this movie. Script was good, pacing was good, it really set up why Bond became the Bond we're familiar with.

Pulse - Rented this just cause it has Kristen Bell in it from Veronica Mars. I watched it alone at 11pm with the lights off. I don't care what other reviews say - it was scary and well done. It was co-written by Wes Craven and I thought it was pretty good.

Talladega Nights - funny funny funny. Love Will Ferrell

Date Movie - Not so funny. Disappointed with Alyson Hannigan for going with this script.

March of the Penguins - Just hadn't gotten around to watching it when it was getting all the awards. So touching, so well done. If you've seen it, check out this quick spoofy commercial - it's hilarious http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NhSQARojp0

The Philadelphia Story (1940) - I've been using Netflix to watch some classics that I've never seen. This has Katherine Hepburn, Cary Grant, and James Stewart. There's a love triangle and it touches on paparazzi in the 30s/40s. Really cute.

Crash - Damn, that movie is uncomfortable - it's so true. Even people that don't think of themselves as racist really are in the right situations. I was blown away by the writing. It completely deserved all the awards it got.

The Breakup - watched it with Melanie. Wasn't this supposed to be a comedy? It was like being at someone's house for a dinner party and watching a married couple start fighting. You're really uncomfortable and don't know what to do. Too real and too mean. Couldn't enjoy it.

Ok, that's it for now. Satisfied? Coming up on my Netflix queue is The Lake House (expecting it to be really bad), Friends with Money (Jennifer Aniston), and The Devil's Rejects (from Rob Zombie). How's that for variety?

Hello again

Hey! Yes, I know I've been remiss in posting. Not much going on. I've got some movie reviews to post but am just not in the mood to sit here typing for 20 minutes. I'm waiting for a guy to come fix a hole in my bathroom ceiling. I had a leak from my roof, and when the roofer guy came to expect it, he accidentally put his knee through my ceiling. So, now I'm waiting for his drywall guy to come fix it. So far he's 20 minutes late. Sigh. Oh, and yeah, I need a new roof. Yippee. That'll be in a couple weeks. I'll post more later

Check this out! Stay with it till the end.
http://www.glumbert.com/media/spiders